Cotton-cleaning machine and boll breaker



I L L." GILMORE COTTON CLEANING MACHINE AND BOLL BREAKER March 25 1924.

Fild Dec. 1a. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 V I nvuto'k attorney:

March 25 1924.

l. L. GILMORE COTTON CLEANING MACHINE AND BOLL BREAKER 81 14 0 enter,

I Patented Mar. 25, 1924.

UNITED I insane g it FFEQE.

IRA LEE GILMORE, OF OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA.

COTTON-CLEANING. MACHINE AND BOLL BREAKER/ Application filed December 18, 1922. Serial No. 607,753.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, TBA LEE GILMORE, a

citizen of the United States, residingat Okla-' homa City, in the county of Oklahoma and State of Oklahoma, have invented a new and useful Cotton-Cleaning Machine and Bell Breaker, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention aims to provide a simple means whereby the bolls of cotton may be broken, the dirt and trash being removed, the cotton being cleaned, and the construction of the machine being such that the cotton is not shredded or torn to pieces, the dirt, as a general thing, being on the outside of the cotton, and it being unnecessary to disintegrate the cotton in order to secure a thorough cleaning thereof.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the invention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows in Vertical longitudinal section, a device constructed in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a cross section taken through the machine adjacent to one end thereof; Figure 3 is a cross section taken through the machine in a plane spaced from the cutting plane in which Figure 2 is taken; Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating the mounting of the flexible valve strips; Figure 5 is a section showing the con nection which maybe used in certain parts of the frame work; Figure 6 is a diagrammatic View showing one side of the machine; Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the opposite side of the machine.

The device forming the subject matter of this application includes a frame or casing which maybe constructed as desired, 1f preferred, but not of necessity, the frame includes supports 1, 2, 3 and 4, an end wall 6 spaced from the support 1, and an end wall 7 carried by the support 4. Top plates 8 extend between the supports 1-2, 2-3, and

34, the top plate projecting beyond the support 4, as shown in Figure L The top plates may be connected detachably to the supports, as shown at 9 in Figure 5, and it will be understood that, the construction depicted in Figure 5 or a similar construction, may be used wherever necessary or desirable throughoutthe frame or casing.

Imperforate plates 10 extend longitudinally of the machine and are detachably connected to the supports 1, 2 and 3, as shown at 11. Sides 12 extend downwardly between the parts 8 and 10 and are located between the supports 12 and 2-8. Sides 14 extend downwardly from the top of the machine to the bottom thereof, and are located between the supports 23.

A frame 15 extends between the sides 14 and has an arcuate wall 16. 'A frame 17 extends between the sides 14 and has an arcuate wall 18. The innermost one of the plates 10 is mounted on the frame 17. A deck 19 is mounted on the end wall 7 and projects outwardly therebeyond, the deck projecting inwardly into engagement with the wall 16 of the frame'lf). Sides 20 are assembled with the supports 4 and extend upwardly from the deck 19 to the adjacent top plate 8. A foraminous member 21, which may be a wire screen, extends longitudinally of the machine and is located above the plates 10. The foraminous member 21 is mounted detachably at 22 011 the supports 1, 2 and 3, and is connected at its inner end to the frame 15 as shown in Figure 1, the outer end of the foraminous member 21 being connected to a depending flange 74 on the support 1. Transparent plates 23 are carried by certain of the sides 12 and by the sides 14 and are located between the parts 21 and 10. Intermediate plates 24 ex tend inwardly from the end wall 6 and are detachably connected at. 25 to the said end wall and to the supports '1, 2 and 3, the

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the partition 28, the machine is provided in its bottom with an outlet 69. A partition 29 extends between the supports 2, a partition 30 extending between the supports 3. Upstanding battles 31 are carried by the partitions 29 and 30. Inclined guards 32 are mounted on the frame Work of the machine. The sides 27 may be equipped with transparent panes 33, which, like the panes 23 enable the operator to observe the operation of the machine. A foraminous concave 34, preferably made of wire netting is connected to the partitions 28 and 29, and extends longitudinally of the machine at the bottom thereof. A like concave 34 is carried by the partitions 29 and 30. A foraminous concave 35 is mounted at one end on the partition 30 the other end of the concave extending upwardly to a cross bar 36 located in abutment with the frame 15.

Lower beams 37 are mounted on the supports 1, 2, 3 and 4, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. Upper beams 33 are carried by the supports 3 and 4, as shown in the said figures. Shafts 39, 40and 41 are journaled on the beams 37. A shaft 42 is ournaled on the beams 38. The shaft 42 carries a pulley 43. The shaft 39 carries a pulley 45. The shaft 41 is supplied with a pulley 51. The pulleys. 51, and 43 are located on the same side of the machine. A belt 44 is trained around the pulleys 43 and 45. The pulley 51 is engaged by a driving belt 52. At the opposite side of the machine, the shaft 40 carries a pulley 47, there being a pulley 46 on the shaft 41, and the pulley 48 on the shaft 39. The pulleys 47 and 46 are engaged by a belt 49. A belt 50 engages the pulleys 48 and 46 and over-rides the belt 49. The construction is such that clock-wise movement will be imparted simultaneously to the shafts 39, 40, 41 and 42.

The shaft 42 carries a rotary member 59, including a hub 53, blades 54 projecting from the hub, the blades being rigid, and flexible valve strips 55 held by retaining strips 56 and securing elements 57 on the blades, the rotary member 59 comprising end walls 58 between which the blades 54 extend. The flexible valve strips 55 are adapted to traverse the walls 16 and 18 of the frames 15 and 17. The shaft 41 carries a rotary member 60 comprising end walls 61 and rigid blades 62. Preferably, the rotary member 60 is provided with a greater number of blades than is the rotary member 59. The rotary member 60 cooperates with the foraminous concave 35. A. rotary member 63 is mounted on the shaft 40, the said rotary member comprising end walls 64 and blades 65, there being if desired, fewer blades in the rotary member 63 than in the rotary member 60. The rotary member .63 coacts with the foraminous concave 34 and is located beneath one of the guards 32. A

rotary member 66 is carried by the shaft 39 i and comprises end walls 67 and blades 68. There may be any number of the blades 68, but, in the drawings, the member 66 is shown as provided with the same number of blades as the rotary member 63. The rotary mem ber 66 coacts with the concave 34 and is disposed below the corresponding guard 32.

Described in general terms, the machine embodies a lower chamber 71 having an outlet 69, a feeding conduit 72 being located above the chamber, the feeding cenduit having an imperforate bottom 10 and a foraminous top 21, the feeding conduit being connected to the chamber by a reduced neck 18-16. Above the feeding conduit 72 is located a suction or air conduit 73 which is closed at one end, as shown at 74, and is open at the other end, as marked by the numeral 7 5, the air conduit having an imperforate top 8 the foraminous top 21 of the feed conduit 7 2 constituting a foraminous bottom for the air conduit 73. The rotary member 59 operates in the neck 18-16 and the flexible valve strips 55 cooperate with the neck.

In practical operation, the cotton is drawn throughthe conduit 72 by suction in the conduit 75, some of the dirt and loose material passing through the foraminous 1nember 21 and being discharged at the outlet 75. The cotton is delivered into the rotary member 59 and is carried downwardly, the valves 55 cooperating with the parts 16 and 18 to maintain the suction. The cotton is passed downwardly, by the rotary member 59 to the rotary member 60, and the rotary member 60 cooperating with the concave, breaks up the shells of the cotton bolls. Some of the foreign matter passes through the concave 35, and the cotton is kicked upwardly over the bafie '31, the cotton being received on the guard 32 and being carried downwardly and forwardly by the rotary member 63 over the concave 34, some of the dirt passing through the concave. The rotary member 66 and the'concave 34 together with the corresponding guard 32, operate on the cotton in a similar manner, and, 111- timately, the cotton, having been duly hulled and cleaned emerges through the outlet 69, the cotton passing thence to the gins.

The device forming the subject matter of this application, although simple in construction, will be found thoroughly efficient to hull and clean cotton without breaking or tearing the cotton, there being no spikes or teeth in the rotary members.

What is claimed is 1. A machine of the class described, comprising a chamber provided with a bottom made up of a plurality of foraminous concaves disposed one behind the other longitudinally of the machine, a feed conduit located above the chamber, and a suction con- 1,ase,3es

duit disposed above the feed conduit, the conduits having a common foraminous wall, the feed conduit having a neck communicating with the chamber, a rotary valve and feeding member journaled in the neck, the feed conduit being open and continuous from its intake end to the rotary member, combined conveyor and blower drums journaled above and cooperating with the concaves, the valve and feeding member being located above the first of the conveyor and blower drums, and discharging directly thereinto, the space between the valve and feeding member and the first of the conveyor and blower drums being open, and means for rotating the valve and feeding member and the conveyor and blower drums, the said drums being disposed in a substantially horizontal line.

2. A machine of the class described, comprising a chamber provided with a bottom made up of a plurality of foraminous concaves disposed one behind the other, longitudinally of the machine, the chamber having a top, guards extending downwardly from the top and inclined toward the forward ends of certain of the concaves, combined conveyor and blower drums journaled above and cooperating with the concaves, certain of the drums being disposed between the guards and the corresponding concaves, the first of the drums being located in advance of the guards, the drums being disposed in a substantially horizontal line, a feed conduit located above the top of the chamber and a suction conduit located above the feed conduit, the conduits having a common foraminous wall, the feed conduit having a neck communicating with the chamber, a rotary valve and feeding member ournaled in the neck, the feed conduit being open and continuous from its intake end to the rotary member, said member discharging directly upon the first of the drums, the space between the rotary member and the first of the drums being open, and means for rotating the valve and feeding member and'the conveyor and blower drums.

In testimony that I claim the fore oing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

IRA LEE GILMORE. 

